{"id":450,"date":"2025-09-23T08:18:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T12:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/?p=450"},"modified":"2025-10-06T08:22:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T12:22:12","slug":"spaced-practice-4-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/stalled\/2025\/09\/23\/spaced-practice-4-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Spaced practice (4.2)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We get it \u2014 a lot of people cram. But did you know that research indicates that cramming does <\/em>not<\/em><\/strong> help you remember information in the long term? Instead, try spaced practice, which helps you remember concepts and information in a more long-lasting way. And it prevents you from engaging in unhealthy all-night cram sessions!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHAT IS SPACED PRACTICE?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IT SPACES OUT YOUR STUDYING. <\/em><\/strong>In a nutshell, spaced practice (some people call it \u201cdistributed practice\u201d) is the opposite of cramming<\/strong>. It involves regular, frequent study sessions that expose your brain to the information you need many times over a long period. Cramming (sometimes called \u201cmassed practice\u201d) has been shown to lead to poorer retention \u2014 which means that you\u2019ll remember material better, and for longer, if you engage in many shorter study sessions that are spaced out over time than you will if you try to study in one big chunk immediately before an exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IT REQUIRES PLANNING.<\/strong> Spaced practice works best when you do it regularly<\/strong>. So, if you have a class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, schedule a short study session for that class on each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You want to review information from each class, but not immediately \u2014 remember, the idea is to space out your practice so that you keep ideas and information in your mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long should you schedule each study session? That depends on the complexity of the material as well as the time that\u2019s available in your schedule. For some classes, regular sessions of 10-15 minutes might be enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT IF I FORGET THINGS?<\/strong> You\u2019re human, so you will forget some of what you learn. But with spaced practice, you\u2019ll refresh your memory, giving yourself repeated exposure<\/strong> to course information. That will help you in the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW DOES SPACED PRACTICE WORK?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THINK OF LEARNING A SPORT.<\/strong> If you play basketball, did you learn to shoot baskets by having only one shooting practice session? If you play tennis, did you cultivate a great backhand by only practicing it during one session? Studying is similar \u2014 you have to have many practice sessions <\/strong>for the same skill or content to get good at it, and you have to space that practice out rather than do it all at once to build up your ability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRACTICE.<\/strong> Study by self-quizzing, creating concept maps, or otherwise making your study time active<\/strong>. End study sessions with a review of what you\u2019ve covered, and start new study sessions by testing yourself on material that you\u2019ve previously learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, \u201cpractice\u201d means different things for different courses. It might mean doing more example problems for economics or chemistry classes, but it might mean formulating questions about difficult theoretical texts in an English or philosophy class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLAN.<\/strong> Some people like to study in one-hour increments, while others like their practice sessions to last two hours or longer. You may need to experiment with the length of your study sessions to see what works for you \u2014 but make sure to build in breaks. Those are good opportunities to move around, stretch, and give yourself a small reward (like time spent with friends, playing video games for 20 minutes, or enjoying a snack).  This helps keep you refreshed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will help you to set up regular practice (or study) sessions for each of your courses so that you frequently<\/strong> review the information for each course. That\u2019s what will allow you to feel more confident when taking a test, and what will give you a better starting point for an essay- or report-writing assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FURTHER RESOURCES<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gurung, Regan A.R. and Dunlosky, John. \u201cCh. 4: Spacing It Out<\/a>\u201d in Study Like a Champ: The Psychology-Based Guide to Grade A Study Habits<\/em> (2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

University of Arizona, Office of Academic Affairs. \u201cSpaced Practice<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

University of Iowa, Learning at Iowa. \u201cSpaced Practice vs. Massed Practice: Why Cramming Doesn\u2019t Work<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FACULTY FAUCET<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that it\u2019s important to circle back to concepts and ideas repeatedly throughout varying periods of time for effective learning. Consider starting or ending class with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n